Two-way radio messaging systems are now becoming increasingly popular. A benefit of such systems is confirmation of outbound (system-to-subscriber) message delivery. Another benefit is the capability of inbound (subscriber-to-system) message origination and transmission. The capability to send inbound messages has brought about electronic devices having a means of originating inbound messages. The simplest devices have utilized a few control buttons for positioning a cursor over a "canned" response or character and then "selecting" the same for addition to an inbound message. More advanced devices have included an alphanumeric keyboard and display for originating inbound messages.
A design objective of many electronic devices, such as portable subscriber units for messaging systems, is small size, allowing easy transport on one's person. This objective can conflict with designing a keyboard that includes a full set of alphanumeric characters, symbols, and punctuation marks, and is easy to use. In addition, preparing, addressing, and sending an inbound message can be somewhat daunting to a subscriber who is not familiar with these features.
Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus in an electronic device for supplementing the keyboard and for helping a user to operate the electronic device.